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RCM Budget Model

Rutgers Faculty are grappling with the impacts of the "Responsibility Center Management" (RCM) budget model, introduced by President Robert Barchi. This model replaces the previous model called All Funds Budgeting (AFB). Some faculty have characterized RCM as an "eat-what-you-kill" system.

The reports on RCM tend to indicate that it is not a positive trend in higher education.

David Kirp, professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, has written about the trend toward the adoption of responsibility-centered management (RCM) budget models. Dr. Kirp raises critical questions about RCM budget models because he believes they are "signs of the triumph of market values over the vision of the university as an intellectual commons where money isn’t the principal metric of worth."

The Budget and Finance Committee of the Rutgers University Senate has evaluated the implementation of the RCM model. The Committee was chaired by Menahem Spiegel (Professor, Rutgers Business School-Newark). Dr. Spiegel and other members of the Committee that worked on the charge and the report are listed at the end of the report. The University Senate has made recommendations.

The process of implementation of RCM at Rutgers has not yet been completely worked out. A "shadow" RCM budget is being implementing alongside the existing budget for the budget year starting on July 2014 with a move to full RCM implementation expected about a year later. This is the time when faculty voices are needed.

The leadership of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT is discussing the impact of RCM with its members, especially department chairs. Here's where faculty governance is greatly assisted by union members talking with each other about the impact of RCM on their educational mission.

As we continue our fight for a fair PTL contract, the faculty senate in Camden and New Brunswick have overwhelmingly voted to approve resolutions in support of a fair contract for part-time faculty. Language can be found here: